Perplexity Reportedly Pulls Back on Ads as AI Trust Debate Heats Up

OpenAI’s ad experiment has been the talk of the town since late last year. It was only last month when the company confirmed that it is actually testing ads inside ChatGPT. In fact, the ChatGPT ads have already rolled out for those on the free and Go plans in the US.

OpenAI’s move didn’t sit well with Anthropic, as it recently took a jab at the company through its Super Bowl ad. Sam Altman wasn’t quite impressed and called the campaign “dishonest.”

At a time when the industry is questioning whether a chatbot can both chase ad dollars and maintain user trust, Perplexity appears to be stepping back from its ad trial. The narrative of user trust built by Anthropic through that Super Bowl ad may also have contributed a small part to Perplexity’s decision.

Perplexity pulls back from ads as trust concerns grow

The news comes via Financial Times and Business Insider, which reported that the AI search startup has been phasing out ads introduced in 2024 and is not pursuing new ad deals for now (via The Verge). Executives reportedly acknowledged that advertising can make users “doubt everything,” a risky dynamic for a product built around factual answers.

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Rather than chasing ad revenue, Perplexity is reportedly looking to move toward subscriptions and enterprise customers, who are likely to pay for accurate results rather than tolerate sponsored responses. It’s unclear whether this move will hold if revenue pressures mount, but for now, the AI industry looks split between ad-backed scale and paid trust.

As a user, what’s your take on ads in AI assistants? Let us know in the comments below.